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Blackness as Burden? The Lived Experience of Black Africans in Australia

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  • Virginia Mapedzahama
  • Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo

Abstract

Skin color is broadly accepted as a conspicuous marker of difference and racial belonging. Yet while the body is understood as a given, it is also socially inscribed: heavily sexualized, gendered, and even “colored.†This article is about African bodies that are colored Black. It critically discusses the experiences of black embodiment for African diaspora bodies that are coded “black†and inscribed with blackness in Australia. The article is written from a black African experience perspective to call into question current distorted and problem-centered narratives of African Blackness in Australia. Adopting standpoint theory and critical race theory’s unique voice of color thesis as conceptual framework for making sense of focus group data with black African migrants living in New South Wales and Victoria, the article’s main contention is that black African embodiment is experienced as a (symbolic and material) burden; what we call the “the burden of Blackness.†We discuss four dimensions of this burden: problematic stereotypes and social constructions, the paradox of in/visibility, burden of racial “two-ness,†and burden of minimization.

Suggested Citation

  • Virginia Mapedzahama & Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo, 2017. "Blackness as Burden? The Lived Experience of Black Africans in Australia," SAGE Open, , vol. 7(3), pages 21582440177, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:7:y:2017:i:3:p:2158244017720483
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244017720483
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kwamena Kwansah-Aidoo & Virginia Mapedzahama, 2015. "Media Event, Racial Ramblings, or Both? An Analysis of Media Coverage of the Tamworth Council Sudanese Refugees Resettlement Case (2006)," SAGE Open, , vol. 5(4), pages 21582440156, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Vassilissa Carangio, 2023. "White Anglo patriarchal possession in organizations: Unequal vertical career progressions among Anglo White & non‐Anglo White highly skilled immigrant women," Gender, Work and Organization, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 1199-1217, July.
    2. Kathomi Gatwiri & Leticia Anderson, 2020. "Boundaries of Belonging: Theorizing Black African Migrant Experiences in Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Hyacinth Udah, 2019. "Searching for a Place to Belong in a Time of Othering," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-16, October.

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